Tongs.



L; E'. PUNK. Y Tonus; APPLICATION FILED LPRA. 1910.

973,862. Patented 0ct. 25,191o.

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Witnesses:

L. E. FUNK.

' vroNGs.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4, 1910.

` 973,862. -Patenaoen 25, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET [n vento/ff Louis LOUIS E. FUNK, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINCIS.l

TONGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1910.

Application filed April 4, 1910. Serial No. 553,203.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis E. FUNK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tongs, of which thefollowing is a specification.

' The present invention relates to tongs which are intended to be placedupo-n the end of a pole and operate to clasp and retain an object whichis positioned at a point out of reach of the user. n

The objects of the invention are, to construct a device which is cheapand simple of manufacture; which will be eiicient for the purpose towhich it may be applied; which is capable of being used to accomplish anumber of results; to construct the operating mechanism so that it maybe adjusted to various distances on the pole; to provide a surface whichis of a nature to be easily slipped in back of a picture or rod, orother in removing article, upon which the tongs are operating; and to soform the tongs that they will eficiently and firmly grip the object andwill not be displaced from gripping positionduring the operation inwhich they are being used.

The invention further consists in the features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view showing the tongs in operativeposition for removing a picture; Fig. 2, an enlarged view, showing thetongs in closed position in full lines, and in open position in dottedlines; Fig. 3, a view of a modified construction of tongs; Fig. 4, arear view of the form shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a detail of the adjustingmechanism; Fig. 6, a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modifiedconstruction; Fig. 7, a detail showing mechanism for adjusting theoperating member; Fig..8, a detail showing the tongs gripping a pole ofrelativelylarge diameter; Fig. 9, a view similar to Fig. 8, showing thetongs gripping a pole of relatively small diameter; Fig. 10, a det-ailshowing the tongs in engagement ,with a picture hook; Fig. l1, asectionon line 11%11 of Fig. 7; and Fig. 12, a detail showing a planfiew of the adjusting mechanism shown in The present invention wasdesigned more especially to dispense with the use of stepladders andlike .means commonly employed pictures, rods, etc., from the walls of aroom. It hasv been found in cases where the object desired to be movedor lowered is at a considerable distance from the floor, that it was adifficult matter to successfully remove the same while standing upon astep-ladder `or other similar contrivance. object ris of appreciableweight. The present invention is so designed that the-user may standupon the floor and readily reach t-he object which he desires, and, by asingle operation, actuate the tongs, so that they will grip the objectand retain their grip thereon during the operation of lowering or movingthe object.

The device is intended t-he end of a pole 13, and consists, as shown, ofa ferrule or stem 14, which terminates in an upwardly extending member15, which, for the purpose of convenience in description, may be termedthe fixed section of the tong mechanism. The fixed section l5, as shown,is formed with a slight curve inward and is tapered to a point at itsend 16. This formation permits it to be easily inserted between the walland the object which is to be gripped, without having the edges thereofscrape against the wall and mutilate it. The ferrule 14 is cut away soas to produce a semi-circular groove 17, up from which the fixed member15 of the t-ong mechanism extends. The tong mechanism further comprisesa member 18, which, for the sake of convenience in description, may betermed the movable member. Said member, as shown, is in the form of abell crank lever and is pivoted to ears 19 formed with the ferrule 14.The upper or acting endof the movable member is of an S- shapedformation and comprises a curved portion 20 and a curved portion 21, thecurve of the portion 20 being on a larger radius than the curve of theportion 2l.

As shown in Fig. 2, the upper end of the movable section has two pointsof contact with the fixed section, thus aiding in preventing the pullingout from between the sections of the clamped article. The semicircularend 17 of the ferrule .14 and the curved portion 20 of the movablemember 18 coperate to provide a chamber or groove adapted to receive arelatively large object, and the curved portion 21 of the member 18coperates withthe fixed member 15 to produce a relatively small recessor chamber. -The function of these chambers will be This is especiallytrue where the to be placed upon i hereinafter more fully explained, aswell as the functions of the double contacting` surfaces produced by theS-shaped formation. 1n the construction shown in Fig. 2, the movablemember is held normally in clamped position by a U-shaped spring 22,which bears against a stud or pin 23 in the handle 13; and the movablemember has attached to its lower end 24, a cable 25, which passesdownward through a plurality of guide-eyes 26. The cable 25 is attached,at its lower end, to the upwardly extending arm of a bell crank lever27, and said lever is held to the rod 13 by a clamping ring 23, adaptedto be tightened and loosened by the manipulation of a wing-nut or other'similar device. r1`he cable 25 is preferably formed in two sections,each of the sections terminating at their adjacent ends in loops 29,through which are entered set screws 30, which bear against the wirespassing through the loops and lock them together. wWhen it is desired toadjust the position of the bell crank lever 27, this can be readilyaccomplished by loosening the wing-nut and the set screws 30 and slidingthe bell crank lever and the cable carried thereby up or down to theposition desired.

As heretofore stated, the curved portion 20 of the member 18 and thesemi-circular end 17 of the ferrule 14 cooperate to clamp objects ofrelatively large diameters, such as portire poles, etc. As shown in Fig.8, one of these poles 33 is shown clamped in position; and in Fig. 9 isshown a pole 34 of relatively small diameter clamped in position betweenthe curved portion 21 of the member 18 and the face of the fixed member15. 1t will thus be seen from the description and by a study of Figs. 8and 9 that the tong mechanism is adapted to clamp securely, objects ofvarying diameter, without any readjust-ment of the parts, and withoutdistending the movable member an undue distance from the fixed section.

By referring to Fig. 10, it will be seen that in clamping a picturehook, the hook 35 will be held at two points, one point 36, adjacent toone shoulder of the hook, and the other point 37, adjacent to anothershoulder of the hook. Hence, when the hook isclamped in the mannershown, considerable weight will be necessary in order to force the hookout from its clamped position. This is an especially desirable featurein the lowering of pictures, as they are oftentimes of great weight, andthe tong mechanism must be of a suiiiciently rigid gripping nature towithstand the strain placed thereon.

Referring to Fig. 6,there is shown a modified construction, in which aspring 3S is attached to the lower end of the bell crank lever and tendsto hold the acting or gripping end of the lever in position away fromthe fixed clamping member; and the outward movement of the member islimited by the contact of an ear or abutment 39 against the side of theferrule 14. rlhe mechanism for actuating the lever is similar to thatdescribed in connection with the construction shown in Fig. 1, exceptthat the cable, in place of being attached to the lower end of the bellcrank lever, is attached to it at a point above its pivotal point.

1n Figs. 3 and 4 is shown another modification, which is similar in allrespects to that shown in Fig. 1, except that a slot 40 is formed in themember 15, and prongs 41 are provided, which outwardly project from thesides of the member 15, and which have their upper edges lying in ahorizontal plane midway the length of the slot 40. The function of theslot 40 is to permit the section 15 to straddle and project about a nailor screw, as shown in Fig. 3, and the function of the prongs 41 is toprovide shoulders which will contact the wire hung upon the nail whenthe member 15 is slid by, and lift the wire sufficiently to permit it tobe lifted over the head of the nail when the device is moved outward,the width of the slot 40 being sufficient to permit the head of the nailor screw to pass therethrough.

As will be seen from a study of Fig. 1, when the picture hook or otherarticle is clamped, it can be lifted off from its seat and positionedupon a seat at a pointdistant, without lowering the pole and removingthe article, or without in any way disturbing the adjustment of thepicture or other article carried thereby.

While 1 have described and shown the device of my invention as beingused for the purpose of removing pictures and poles, it

Vwill, of course, be understood that it can be readily used for allmanner of work which could consistently come within the scope of theclaims and for which the device is apparently adapted.

As shown in Fig. 10, the curved end 13a of the pole 13 lies flush withthe curved end of the ferrule 14, and upon this face 13a,the picturehook rests when the picture is being moved, so that the major portion ofthe strain is placed upon the end of the pole during the movingoperation.

I claim:

1. 1n a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanismmounted upon one end of a pole, and mechanism adjacent to the other endof the pole for actuating said tong mechanism, the tong mechanismcomprising a fixed section and a movable section, and the upper end ofthe movable section being of an S-shaped formation and contacting thearticle at a plurality of points during the clamping operation,substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanismmounted upon one end of a pole, and mechanism adjacent to the other endof the pole for actuating said tong mechanism, the tong mechanismcomprising a fixed section and a movable section, the upper end of themovable section being of an S-shaped formation and producing a pluralityof various sized grooves between the fixed and movable sections, for thereception of articles of various sizes, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanismmounted upon one end of a pole, mechanism adjacent to the other end ofthe pole for actuating said tong mechanism in one direction, the tong`mechanism comprising a fixed section and a. movable section, the upperend of the movable section being of an S-shaped formation andcont-acting the article at a plurality of points during the clampingoperation, and a spring for actuating` the movable clamping member inthe other direction, substantially as described.

4l. In a device of the class described, the combination of tongmechanism mounted upon one end of a pole, said mechanism comprising afixed section and a movable section, the movable section being in theform of a bell crank lever, having its upper or clamping end of anS-shaped formation andcontact-ing the article at a plurality of pointsduring the clamping operation, an actuating` member adjacent to theother end of the pole, and comprising` a bell crank lever, a connectionbetween the movable section and the actuating member, means foradjusting said connection, and means for adjusting the actuating memberup and down upon the pole, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanismmounted upon one end of a pole, said mechanism comprising a fixedsection and a movable section, the movable section being in the form ofa bell crank lever, having its upperor clamping end of an S-shapedformation, said S-shaped formation producing a plurality of varioussized grooves between the fixed and movable clamping members, for thereception of articles of different sizes, an actuating member adjacentto the other end of the pole, and comprising a bell crank lever, aconnection between the movable section and the actuating member, meansfor adjusting said connection, and means for adjusting the actuatingmember up and down the pole, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanism-mounted upon one end of a pole, and mechanism adjacent to the other endof the pole for actuating said tong mechanism, the tong mechanismcomprising a fixed section and a movable section, and the upper end ofthe movable section being of an S-shaped formation and contacting thearticle at a plurality of points during the clamping operation, the rearface of the clamping member curving inward toward its upper end,substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of tong mechanismmounted upon one end of a pole, and mechanism adjacent to the other endof the pole for actuating said tong mechanism, the tong mechanismcomprising a fixed section and a movable section, the upper end of themovable section being of an S-shaped formation and producing a pluralityof various sized grooves between the fixed and movable sections, for thereception of articles of Various sizes, the rear face of the fixedclamping member curving inward toward its upper end, substantially asdescribed.

LOUIS E. FUNK.

Witnesses:

WM. P. BOND, MARY R. FROST.

